SEIU chief negotiator Josie Mooney gives a brief statement to reporters as she heads back to the BART bargaining table.

Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle

SEIU chief negotiator Josie Mooney gives a brief statement to...

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SEIU Negotiator Antoinette Bryant says hello to reporters as she heads into BART negotiations at the State of California Department of Transportation in Oakland, CA Tuesday, October 15, 2013.

Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle

SEIU Negotiator Antoinette Bryant says hello to reporters as she...

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BART spokesperson Alicia Trost speaking to the press briefly on Tuesday night about how negotiations are proceeding. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

BART spokesperson Alicia Trost speaking to the press briefly on...

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Television crews switch out a mic stand as their shifts change and new live trucks take over on Tuesday night. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Television crews switch out a mic stand as their shifts change and...

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Union negotiator, Antonette Bryant, speaks to the press about a BART spokesperson speaking outside of gag order to the press on Tuesday night. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Union negotiator, Antonette Bryant, speaks to the press about a...

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TV media remains set up outside the Caltrans building in Oakland, waiting for updates from BART management and unions on the negotiations. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

TV media remains set up outside the Caltrans building in Oakland,...

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BART union negotiators leave for a dinner break from negotiations on Tuesday night. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

BART union negotiators leave for a dinner break from negotiations...

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BART union negotiators return from a dinner break to negotiations on Tuesday night. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

BART union negotiators return from a dinner break to negotiations...

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BART spokesperson Alicia Trost is seen speaking to the press briefly on Tuesday night. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

BART spokesperson Alicia Trost is seen speaking to the press...

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In a reflection, BART spokesperson Alicia Trost is seen speaking to the press briefly on Tuesday night. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

In a reflection, BART spokesperson Alicia Trost is seen speaking to...

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TV news crews go live for their evening reports during the ongoing BART negotiations at the State of California Department of Transportation in Oakland, CA Tuesday, October 15, 2013.

Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle

TV news crews go live for their evening reports during the ongoing...

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Federal mediators George Cohen, right, and Scott Beckenbaugh, left, announce that train service would run on Wednesday as they continue to negotiate overnight. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif.

Federal mediator George Cohen speaks to the press and announces that trains will run on Wednesday as negotiations continue late into the night on Tuesday. BART negotiations continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif., as both sides try to iron out the final details of a contract.

(10-16) 06:16 PDT OAKLAND -- BART and its unions continued talking late early Wednesday as both sides struggled to find agreement on a new contract - but they declared there will not be a strike Wednesday and trains will run as usual.

Federal mediator George Cohen emerged from the Caltrans headquarters in Oakland at 10:20 p.m. to say "bargaining continues taking place," and that because of that, on behalf of both sides "and in support of public interests and all the riders of this area, there will be train service all day (Wednesday)."

He then added, "We are devoting all our efforts to achieve this agreement," and went back inside without taking questions. The negotiations continued until 1 a.m. Wednesday, when a recess was declared. Talks will resume at 10 a.m.

Union leaders and BART managers also refused to elaborate on details of the negotiations past promises of no strike on Wednesday.

The scenario was similar to the one that played out early Tuesday morning when bargaining ground on past a midnight strike deadline that had been set by the unions. After no word for hours, Cohen emerged around 1 a.m. to say the talks were productive enough to keep on going and prevent the intended walkout.

Both sides then kept at the table, exchanging proposals and being pressed by mediators, until 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. After a break, they were back at it early Tuesday afternoon to discuss work rules, safety issues and a compensation and benefits package.

Representatives of BART and its two largest unions - Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 and SEIU Local 1021 - were mostly quiet about the status of negotiations all day Tuesday, perhaps due to lack of sleep.

"It's not easy on anyone's part," said Josie Mooney, chief negotiator for Service Employees International Union 1021. She said she hoped to stay "until they got a deal."

"We're working very hard to achieve an agreement," said Mooney. "We're going to do everything we can to get there today."

Union officials declined to say whether they were still contemplating a walkout in the future and, despite some reports to the contrary, have not set a strike deadline.

'Final offer' still in play

BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said the parties are negotiating over a deal that fits within the $57 million, four-year "last, best and final offer" that BART issued to its unions Sunday. While BART officials characterized the offer as final, they said they would entertain proposals from the unions that fit within the general framework and cost of their offer.

BART officials have said the offer included a 12 percent raise over four years and provisions that would have employees paying a 4 percent pension contribution and a 9.5 percent increase in their health insurance contribution.

A "last, best and final offer" can become the basis for imposed terms and working conditions, but can still be bargained over and altered. BART officials have said they don't intend to impose a contract.

Bargainers on both sides have credited Cohen for moving the talks forward, and Mooney in particular said Cohen was helping by offering creative solutions.

Negotiations have been a roller-coaster ride over the past week that left both sides in the talks angry and commuters constantly on edge.

A 60-day cooling-off period ordered by Gov. Jerry Brown expired at 11:59 p.m. Sunday. That same day BART offered up what it called its final offer, a move that surprised the unions. The unions agreed that night to talk for one more day, but once again said if the talks failed they would walk off their jobs - and then extended the deadline again when progress was made.

For Bay Area commuters, the daily threat of not knowing whether they could rely on the crucial train system - whose weekday ridership exceeds 400,000 - was taking its toll. An earlier 4 1/2-day strike in July turned the normally slow summer commute into a frustrating crawl, and if BART employees walk out during the current non-vacation season, the effect will be worse.

Anger, frustration

Cynthia DeArmon's commute from San Pablo to San Francisco includes an AC Transit bus, BART and Muni. As she exited the Powell Street BART Station Tuesday afternoon, she said she was tired, angry and frustrated by the dragged-out negotiations combined with the fear each night that she won't be able to get to work the next day.

"It's so stressful," said DeArmon, 51. "You can't get enough sleep because you worry. It really kills the whole idea of trying to stay employed."

Yolanda Lopp, 42, echoed the sentiments - twofold. She is experiencing a double whammy of government dysfunction.

The Hayward resident works for the Internal Revenue Service and has been on furlough since the federal government shut down two weeks ago. A BART strike would make getting to her second job in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood nearly impossible.

"I'm tired of it," she said.

And, despite being a government worker, she felt little professional kinship with the BART workers threatening to strike.

"I would tell the workers to stop being so spoiled, and to be thankful you have a job," she said.

Compounding commuters' concerns is AC Transit's threat of a strike.

Union workers issued a 72-hour strike notice Monday, which could lead to a halt in the East Bay bus service for the Thursday commute. The AC Transit Board of Directors asked Gov. Jerry Brown to issue a 60-day cooling-off period, which would force workers to stay on the job as the two sides continued to negotiate.